[SFGate] What started as an attempt to keep a struggling business afloat a decade ago turned into the largest embezzlement of political funds in Caliphornia history, ending Wednesday with an eight-year federal prison sentence for a former campaign treasurer who stole from some of the state's most powerful politicians.

Kinde Durkee received the sentence in federal court nearly eight months after she pleaded guilty to five counts of mail fraud in connection with the scheme whose victims included Sen. Dianne Feinstein, along with other members of Congress and the Legislature.

The sentence was on the low end of the possible range of punishment - Durkee faced a maximum of 20 years for each count. She was also ordered to pay $10.5 million in restitution to her victims, who are unlikely to see much of the money because Durkee already spent it and has few other resources.

Judge Kimberly Mueller of the U.S. District Court in Sacramento called the embezzlement a "significant and egregious offense."

"I think the violation of trust ... can't be understated," Mueller said before sentencing Durkee.

Durkee, 59, who had been out on bail, offered an apology.

"I take full and complete responsibility for what I have done," Durkee told the judge, her voice breaking slightly. She was ordered to surrender to law enforcement Jan. 2.

Both prosecutors and her defense attorney said Durkee didn't use the money to fund a lavish lifestyle, but instead spent it to cover losses in her business and on mostly mundane personal expenses like her mortgage and health care for her parents.

[Washington Examiner] The administration is funding a $100,000 study of pregnant and "at-risk" 14-17-year-old girls on probation in Houston, Texas to determine ways to help them choose safer lifestyles and avoid pregnancy, including better "condom negotiation" tactics.

The National Institutes of Health, part of the Health and Human Services Department, is providing a University of Houston researcher the money because of the lack of study of female teen juveniles in trouble with the law.

The school said the study, "Choices - Teen: A Bundled Risk Reduction Intervention for Juvenile Justice Females," will include 30 at-risk girls, ages 14-17, on intensive probation with the Harris County Juvenile Probation Department.That works out to $3,333.33 1/3 cents per girlie, by my calculations.
The goal, said the school, is to determine if intervention programs will help the kids make better life decisions.

On World AIDS Day, the city Health Department released new figures showing Houston's HIV infection rate is almost twice the national average. Harris County had 44 new infections for every 100,000 people, compared with 23 per 100,000 nationwide. In 2006, around 1,700 county residents became HIV-positive.

"The new estimate is based on direct measurement of new HIV infections using a new technology that can distinguish recent from long-standing infections," said Porfirio Villarreal, a spokesperson for the Houston Department of Health and Human Services. However, the amended figures do not represent an increase in the number of new HIV cases.

The department is currently using the new method to calculate the number of county residents who were infected in 2007, Villarreal said.

"In one year, one in 2,000 Houstonians became infected with HIV. That's a pretty alarming statistic," said Dr. Tom Giordano, a professor at Baylor College of Medicine and medical director at the Harris County Hospital District's Thomas Street Health Center, which provides care to approximately 4,000 HIV patients each year.

The data show that African Americans account for more than half of new HIV cases in the county. Hispanics are also hard-hit by the disease. Villarreal said local health officials have stepped up prevention efforts in these communities in response.

Working with community- and faith-based groups, the city Health Department has expanded HIV testing through mobile vans assigned to areas with the highest HIV rates. Thanks to a CDC grant, the city began offering HIV testing in emergency rooms at Ben Taub General Hospital and Memorial Hermann Hospital-The Texas Medical Center, as well as at Legacy Community Health Services locations, this summer.

#4
Condom negotiation? Never heard it called that. Why would condom negotiation training work? What's the incentive if welfare payments are forthcoming for being pregnant and giving birth? Condoms are not that effective. I suppose they are better than nothing. At 14-17 hormones are very powerful for both boys and girls. Another costly government program that has limited effectiveness.

#5
How about instead funding DNA testing on every pregnancy for 14-17-year-old girls. The sperm donor gets 'fixed' for any further future reproduction capability. Humanely of course. Bets on the drop in teenage pregnancy?

#10
If their choice is to have a litter of kids and live off the welfare state, then they already have made good decisions. I have in-laws who chose that job. When teh dad isn't drunk and has to qualify for gov cheese, he makes 30x/hour than my working sucker ass. Free board. Free school. $650/month food stamps or wtf they call it. Free my money. And Kansas is considered one of the tough states becuase at one point they talked about drug testing to qualify for gov$.

The child of a 14 year old is a dependant of a dependant in a household full of dependants. Thats cash money first of the month.

The portfolio of embattled United Nations Ambassador Susan Rice includes investments of hundreds of thousands of dollars in several energy companies known for doing business with Iran, according to financial disclosure forms.

Rice, a possible nominee to replace Secretary of State Hillary Clinton

...not clear if this is a downgrade...

when she steps down, has come under criticism for promulgating erroneous information about the September 11, 2012, attacks in Benghazi, Libya, that killed four Americans.

Rice has the highest net worth of executive branch members, with a fortune estimated between $24 to $44 million, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

Her biography at Wiki does not seem to support the activities that go with making a lot of money, but perhaps she worked for Bain Capital and I missed it...

A Free Beacon analysis of Rices portfolio shows thousands of dollars invested in at least three separate companies cited by lawmakers on Capitol Hill for doing business in Irans oil and gas sector.

The revelation of these investments could pose a problem for Rice if she is tapped by President Barack Obama to replace Clinton. Among the responsibilities of the next secretary of state will be a showdown with Iran over its nuclear enrichment program.

Who better than an insider? In both capitals...

That Susan Rice invested in companies doing business in Iran shows either the Obama administrations lack of seriousness regarding Iran or Rices own immorality, said Michael Rubin, a former Pentagon adviser on Iran and Iraq. Either way, her actions undercut her ability to demand our allies unity on Iran.

The companies in question appear to have conducted business with Tehran well after Western governments began to urge divestment from the rogue nation, which has continued to enrich uranium near levels needed to build a nuclear bomb.

Financial disclosures reveal that Rice has had $50,001-$100,000 in Royal Dutch Shell, a longtime purchaser of Iranian crude oil. Royal Dutch Shell currently owes Iran nearly $1 billion in back payments for crude oil that it purchased before Western economic sanctions crippled Tehrans ability to process oil payments, Reuters reported.

Rice has additional investments in Norsk Hydro ASA, a Norwegian aluminum firm, and BHP Billiton PLC, an Australian-based natural resources company, financial disclosure show. Norways Norsk Hydro was awarded in 2006 a $107 million exploration and development contract for Irans Khorramabad oil block, according to the Wall Street Journal. Rices portfolio includes an investment of up to $15,000 in the company.

Rice has up to $50,000 invested with another Iranian partner, BHP Billiton, which was probed by the Securities and Exchange Commission in 2010 for its dealings with Cuba and Iran, according to reports. The company, which had leased office space in Tehran, admitted to making more than $360 million from the Iranians, according to The Australian.

#7
Now you both know that there is no black history outside of the worse of the slavery of the old south. Any other so-called 'black history' just doesn't exist. Just ask any liberal history professor.
Much like no other instances of slavery have ever existed in the entire history of the universe EXEPT in the old south.

[News.Investors] It's a beautiful city from the outside. And a political cesspool inside, a seeping source of conniving and corruption that spawned Barack ObamaI am the change that you seek... and his top aide Valerie Jarrett...Chicago political hack, now senior advisor to President B.O.... and is now ruled by the president's ex-chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel.

Another amazing chapter in the Windy City's sordid politics began unfolding Wednesday, one whose lineage can actually be traced back to the very beginnings of Obama's political career, which now has an extended expiry date of Jan. 20, 2017. Today, Obama lunches with the man he defeated, Willard Mitt Romney...former governor of Massachussetts, the Publican nominee for president in 2012. He is the son of the former governor of Michigan, George Romney, who himself ran for president after saving American Motors from failure, though not permanently. Romney has a record as a successful businessman, heading Bain Capital, and he rescued the 2002 Winter Olympics from the midst of bribery and mismanagement scandals....
See if you can follow along now. The details are revealing of the uncompromising history, incestuous inner workings and municipal mores of the place that produced Obama the politician.

Yesterday Mel Reynolds announced his candidacy for the House seat representing Illinois' 2d Congressional District, which includes the city's South Side and -- oh, look! -- Obama's Hyde Park house. So, he'll be eligible to vote in the February Democrat primary and the meaningless April special election.

That special election became necessary after the sudden resignation last week of the district's easy Nov. 6 election winner, eight-term member Jesse Jackson Jr.

Jackson Jr. has been absent from his House duties most of this year during treatment for depression and bipolar disorder. His situation was complicated by revelations that federal authorities are probing allegations of his misuse of campaign funds, not a rare occurrence in Chicago politics.

That resignation and special election is an interesting coincidence because Jackson Jr. was also initially elected in a special election, in December 1995. That followed the sudden resignation of the district's House incumbent after his conviction on 12 counts of sexual assault, obstruction of justice and solicitation of child pornography.

#2
Chicago has been a den of political corruption for as long as I can remember. Obama just understood that and rode it into the Whitehouse. I'd say he was just an ordinary crook but that wouldn't be accurate--he is an extraordinary crook. He far exceeds Bernie Madoff. He has hijacked an an entire economy and gotten away with it without jail time.

[Chicago Tribune] Disgraced former U.S. Rep. Mel Reynolds said he will ask voters to focus on his congressional experience rather than his state and federal criminal record as he announced his bid today for the seat held by Jesse Jackson Jr., who has resigned.

At a downtown hotel news conference, Reynolds acknowledged having made "mistakes" in the past. For his campaign, he will try to assume the mantle of an incumbent while also seeking redemption from voters. Red and white campaign signs urged voters to "re-elect" Reynolds "so he can finish the work" while another stark red sign with white letters said simply: "Redemption."

Reynolds held the 2nd Congressional District seat from 1993 until October 1995, when a Cook County jury convicted him of several sex-related charges, including having sex with an underage volunteer campaign worker. While serving time in state prison, Reynolds also was convicted on federal financial and campaign fraud charges. President Bill Clinton commuted Reynolds' sentence to time served in 2001.

Under law, Reynolds, formerly a South Side resident who is now renting in Dolton, no longer has to register as a sex offender.

Reynolds sought to downplay his previous convictions, contending "it was almost 18, 20 years ago" and that his past crimes "shouldn't be a life sentence."

"The fact of the matter is, nobody's perfect," Reynolds said, adding that voters should "look at the entire history of me," including what people do "after they make mistakes." Reynolds, however, stopped short of acknowledging guilt for any of his crimes.

Though Reynolds sought to focus on his experience in Congress, where he served on the powerful House Boodle Central, his entry into the contest was yet another sorry reminder of the congressional representation that voters on the South Side and south suburbs have had with their last three representatives.

Reynolds replaced Gus Savage, a controversial and outspoken congressman who was condemned by the House Ethics Committee...think of a nudibranch pretending to be a vertebrate... amid allegations of sexual misconduct involving a Peace Corps volunteer while he was on an official congressional visit to Zaire.

After Reynolds resigned, Jackson won a special election in 1995 to succeed him. But after 17 years, Jackson stepped down last week amid federal ethics investigations and a diagnosis of bipolar depression.

#6
convicted him of several sex-related charges, including having sex with an underage volunteer campaign worker. While serving time in state prison, Reynolds also was convicted on federal financial and campaign fraud charges

Sounds emminently qualified to 'represent' the people of IL 2nd Cong. Dist. What percentage of the criminal vote does he need to get to assure election? (I presume criminals can vote in IL, since dead people can.)

A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.

Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.

Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.